


a soul symphony

by ohsoblue



Series: warm thoughts [1]
Category: NoPixel
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Multi, Polyamory, Rating May Change, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Trans Character, make that multiple, no crime au, or just a little bit
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-19
Updated: 2020-11-19
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:35:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27634210
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ohsoblue/pseuds/ohsoblue
Summary: a chance encounter with erin's brother and zelda's roommate leaves curtis and saab with some curiosity. and what better of a way to meet him than a study night at zelda's shared apartment? little do they all know what this will mean for them.
Relationships: Al Saab/Curtis Swoleroid, Al Saab/Curtis Swoleroid/Siz Fulker/Juan Carlos "Flippy" Hernandez, Erin Cox/Griselda "Zelda" Harth, Juan Carlos "Flippy" Hernandez/Curtis Swoleroid, Juan Carlos "Flippy" Hernandez/Olga Sazkaljovich, Other Relationship Tags to Be Added, Siz Fulker/Al Saab, Siz Fulker/Curtis Swoleroid, Siz Fulker/Juan Carlos "Flippy" Hernandez
Series: warm thoughts [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2020552
Kudos: 16





	a soul symphony

**Author's Note:**

> so a totally self-indulgent college/soulmate au featuring siz "i have too many fucking marks" fulker, zelda "i could stab someone but i wont" harth, erin "I'm here to have a good time" cox, flippy "forever in denial" hernandez, curtis "wait what" swoleroid, and al "hopeless romantic" saab. a great many others to come.

While the sun is beginning to rise over the hills beyond the college of Los Santos, Saab finds himself rubbing his hands together, blowing into his palms to keep them warm. His breath comes out in white wisps, every shift of his heels crunching against the snow. He twists his head to his companion, Curtis, who has seemingly fallen asleep standing upright, a beanie falling over his forehead. To his left, his other companion stands looking as though she’s stabbing things in her mind, glazed eyes focused on the road ahead of them.

“So…” Saab begins, but a sharp look from Zelda shuts him up. He doesn’t know her very well but had been intending on at least trying to, considering he’s been assigned to a project with a group and she so happened to be a part of it. He doesn’t know if her sharpness means she’s paying attention or if she wants him to be quiet. And if it was the latter, who is he to blame her? It’s a little after five- the only time the entire group could agree on, because one of them, Erin, works odd hours.

Still, it’s weird to stop in the middle of a sentence like that, right? 

“Kind of creepy out here, huh?” 

Solid, Saab thinks. Bring attention to the way that only three people are outside the university. The entire building behind them is still dark, no cars in the parking lot, and nothing to be heard around them. For a city as loud as Los Santos, it’s certainly starting to feel like he’s stepped into a horror movie.

“Is it?” Zelda asks, deadpan. 

Saab laughs, awkwardly, not sure how to respond to that.

“Who else are we waiting on?” Curtis pipes up, startling Saab so much he jumps and slips on a patch of ice hiding under the snow. He’s lucky he doesn’t fall on his ass, because Curtis reaches out to steady him, yawning all the while.

“Warn me,” Saab snaps with no heat, pressing his hand to his chest as he waits for it to settle back down. “Um, I think Flippy and Erin? Are the last two?”

“You’re dating Erin, aren’t you?” Curtis asks around Saab, staring at Zelda.

Zelda shoves her gloved hands into the pocket of her hoodie, rocking onto the heels of her feet with a nod.

“Then shouldn’t she have come with you?” 

Saab tilts his head at Curtis’s question, turning to peer at the blonde.

“She’s half an hour in the opposite direction of our apartment and I’m on my bike until my car comes back from the shop,” Zelda replies, the most Saab’s heard her speak in the months of sharing a class with her. “She’s getting a ride from my roommate.”

“Not everyone’s lucky enough to score an apartment near the college,” Curtis says, nodding, shifting in place. His jaw clenches, likely covering up shivers from the cold. Saab’s in the same boat.

“Yeah, that too, but she’s getting off her last shift right now,” Zelda shrugs and that’s that. She’s back to staring at the road as if something will change. Makes Saab wonder what job Erin has. Retail? 

Then they pick up the sound of boots behind them, coming up the sidewalk. Saab looks over his shoulder in hope and sees Flippy, holding a paper bag full of what he presumes to be coffee. He could kiss him. Truly. If he weren’t dating that one chick. What’s her name? Olga? Yeah, her.

“Look who’s late to the party,” Curtis says, a crooked grin on his lips, appearing to be ten times more awake than he was a moment ago.

“I can’t believe I’m even awake,” Flippy replies, coming to a stop in front of them, holding the bag above Saab’s head so he can’t glimpse what’s in it. Low blow, dude. “Pressed snooze three times before I remembered I had somewhere to be.”

Considering Flippy’s awake at the strangest of times, that’s no surprise. 

“So I’m not the last one here?” Flippy looks at their group with an eyebrow raised.

“Nope,” Curtis says, popping his lips at the ‘p’. “Gotta say I’m surprised Olga isn’t tagging along for this.”

To Saab, who has known Curtis for a good long while now, it sounds like a jab. He wouldn’t be surprised if it _was_ one. And honestly, who can blame him? Before she entered the picture, they hung out quite a lot, all three of them. But it’s really driving the point home- Flippy doesn’t believe in marks. Doesn’t believe that they’re more destined to be with each other than anyone else they fall in love with. It’s valid, but… 

It’s clear that they’re not seeing eye to eye on the decision. 

Curtis is clearly something of a flirt, who dated people other than his soulmates. That never really bothered Saab, it’s not uncommon of a thing to happen. However, it’s not like Curtis has continued to try and date people outside of Saab when they discovered, oh, hey, you have my mark! He genuinely wants to try and see if there’s something to the whole soulmates thing.

Saab might see it a little more romantically, a little more _deeply_. He believes that he has these marks for a reason, that he’s connected to these people _for a reason_. So meeting not only one soulmate but two? And he can’t be with both? It’s a little… heartbreaking. Saab respects Flippy enough not to be a dick about it, but… it’s tough.

And things only got worse when Olga walked in through the door. What used to be dedicated ‘just us’ hangouts turned into ‘just us and your girlfriend Olga’ hangouts. They got to see a smitten Flippy and it’s not them he’s all flustered about. They were here first, but she swept in and yanked Flippy out of their lives so fast, they barely remember a time where she wasn’t just there, at his side, making snide remarks. 

Don’t get him wrong, Saab likes her. She’s smart and funny. But… well, no point in dwelling on it and getting angry about it at five in the morning.

“Yeah, she’s sleeping in,” Flippy replies, squinting at Curtis in irritation. Saab wasn’t the only one to pick up on the jab then. “I can call her, though?”

“Can you two knock it off?” Zelda pipes up, dryly. “It’s too early for this.”

Saab twists around, hunching over a little as though he’s bracing himself for the wind. And while he is, he also just hates this. Hates that it feels as though the marks are the thing that caused this bump in their friendship, hates that Flippy’s been more distant because of them. 

Curtis sighs loudly in the sudden silence and leans back against a lamppost. 

Ten more minutes crawl by. At this point, Saab’s taken to jogging in place here and there to stay warm. Then the sound of a motorcycle coming down the road catches their attention.

In the snow? Saab can’t help but think that’s a terrible idea.

The motorcycle slowly comes to a stop a few feet from them, where Erin hops off the back of it and pulls off her helmet, muttering about the state of her hair when it tumbles out in messy tangles. She hands the helmet back to the driver, who turns and precariously packs it away into a bag on the side. 

Saab observes the driver, noting the biker kutte with the cool design on it, squinting to see if he can spot a name on it. All he sees is ‘Siz’. And the dude’s wearing flip flops, which is not only a terrible choice for a motorcycle but a weird choice for snowy weather.

“Thanks, bro-bro,” Erin chirps, grinning widely. Nice to see one of them has energy this morning. “Drive safe.”

With a nod, he starts driving away, miraculously not sliding across the wet road when he makes a u-turn.

“Wait, bro? That’s your brother?” Flippy asks, sounding a little appalled. 

“One of them, yeah, why?” Erin asks as she practically skips over to them, digging out a beanie from her messenger bag. 

“That’s really dangerous,” Saab says, rubbing his hands together. “Riding a bike in the snow like that. With flip flops.”

“I guess I can see where she gets it,” Flippy mutters, only for him to get elbowed in the ribs by Zelda. He wheezes.

Erin makes a face as though Flippy kicked some puppies and kittens.

“It may not seem like it, but he _is_ really safe on that thing,” Erin says, crossing her arms across her chest. “And none of you know him, so like, don’t. Okay?”

“First impressions say a lot,” Flippy responds then gestures to the building with the library. “Let’s get out of the snow before my feet fall off.”

“Shut up, he didn’t even talk,” Erin yells and is promptly distracted when Zelda sidles up to her side, arm hooking around hers. Saab looks at the lovestruck gaze and finds himself a little jealous of what they have because while he’s getting there with Curtis, they still have that troublesome third doing whatever the fuck with Olga.

“So, you live with her brother, but not her?” Curtis asks Zelda, who gives him a sour stare, despite his curious tone.

"Why do you sound so accusing when you ask that?" Erin laughs, and as she drops Zelda's arm to grab her hand, swinging it between them, she says, "We didn't start dating until way after she moved in with my brother. He's actually the one who pointed out our matching marks."

Next to them, Saab registers Flippy tensing, jaw clenching minutely. 

“How cute,” Curtis says, sounding genuine. After a pause, he asks, “Does he go to school here?”

“A few night classes. He doesn’t really like crowds,” Erin replies. Something sad flickers through her eyes but she closes them as she beams a grin in their direction. “I don’t have to feel bad about pestering him for a late ride like this because he’s already up.”

Curtis looks from her to the building they’re walking alongside, empty and dark.

“They have night classes here?” Saab asks what Curtis is probably thinking.

“Um, a few. They would have ended, like, hours ago, why?” Erin tilts her head.

“Just curious,” Curtis says, but he exchanges a glance with Saab. Curious about Erin’s brother and they both don’t know why. Just seems like an interesting guy.

Erin stares at them for a moment, then shrugs and rushes to open the library door for Zelda. Flippy takes the door from her and lets the rest of them walk in first. 

“What a gentleman,” Curtis teases as Flippy follows him inside.

“Shut up,” Flippy says, nudging his shoulder.

“I don’t about you all, but I have no idea what we’re going to do and this accounts for at least fifteen percent of our English grade,” Erin speaks up, browsing books as they make their way to an empty table big enough for all of them.

“If nothing else, Zelda can carry us through this,” Curtis jokes, plopping down into a chair next to Saab, slinging an arm around his shoulder.

“Don’t even think about it,” Zelda says, throwing her bag onto the table’s surface with a loud thunk, betraying how much weight she was actually carrying this whole time. 

“What about a play?” Saab suggests, not feeling up for it, but he thinks he remembers someone talking about something like it.

“What is this, theatre class?” Erin asks, but she doesn’t shoot the idea down per se.

“You mean drama?” Flippy asks, setting his paper bag down as he unzips his jacket, finally warm inside the building. 

“It’s too early to care about specifics,” Erin says, tucking her mittens into Zelda’s hoodie pocket.

“I’m not sure I’m going to be much help,” Curtis announces, blinking tiredly. Curtis is known for his ‘wait, what?’ after all. He does the ‘study last minute’ thing and it actually works for him, surprisingly. But it does not help them out in this case.

“Well, let’s put our brains together,” Erin says, “and see what we can come up with.”

Hours later, when they have a plan set in stone, Curtis suggests studying somewhere outside of the library, as it begins to fill up with other dead-inside students, up early with cramming to do.

“The only place big and clean enough for all of us would be…” Erin trails off and turns big pleading eyes towards Zelda, unknowingly playing into exactly what Curtis wanted; a chance to meet Zelda’s elusive roommate. “ _Please_?”

“I don’t care,” Zelda says, caving in. “You get to tell your brother.”

“He won’t care either,” Erin says, dancing in her seat. “How about this Friday, around, uh, six? At night?”

“Works for me,” Saab says, standing up and stretching out the cramp in his back.

All in agreement, one by one, they file out of the library.


End file.
